What you need to know on Wall Street today
Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours.
Sol Kumin launched his New York-based hedge fund in 2015 to much fanfare. Kumin, who had recruited some of Steve Cohen's top traders while working at the billionaire's high-profile fund, SAC Capital, is known for his boisterous personality and salesmanship. But Kumin's fund, Folger Hill Asset Management, has faced setbacks.
Now, the man who recruited Steve Cohen's top traders is counting on another big sale.
There's a bunch of economic news out. Here's what you need to know:
- The US economy just grew at its slowest pace in three years
- The biggest driver of the American economy just slammed into a wall
- Here's why the US economy usually stinks at the beginning of the year
- Consumer confidence unexpectedly dips
- Treasury yields jump after Q1 GDP
- DA COSTA: Trump's "voodoo economics" takes aim at exactly the wrong target
In other news, the smallest companies in the US stock market have gotten the biggest boost from President Donald Trump's proposed corporate tax cut, and investors see no end in sight for the rally.
The stock market is set up for disappointment, according to Erik Weisman is chief economist at MFS Investment Management. Money is pouring into the world's hottest investment product at nearly a record-setting pace. And for a minute, Sean Spicer threw the future of America's retirement plans into some doubt
In banking news:
- A small investment bank you've probably never heard of is killing it in dealmaking
- A group of the world's biggest banks backed an alternative to Libor - reducing "opportunities for misconduct"
- UBS just gave a comprehensive list of the big problems facing the banking sector
- Barclays revenue jumps up 16%, doubling pre-tax profit
- One of Canada's largest mortgage lenders just imploded
In autos, used car retailer Carvana's shares plunged on their debut. And General Motors reported better-than-expected first-quarter net income driven by strong sales of its profitable large pickup trucks and crossovers in the United States.
There's a ton of news in the tech sector. Here goes:
- Enterprise data company Cloudera exploded in its opening minutes of trading
- Amazon crushed its earnings
- Microsoft missed slightly on revenue, but its all-important cloud business is stronger than ever
- Google beats earnings, stock pops
- Read Larry Page's new letter about the current status of Alphabet, Google's parent company
- Qualcomm slashed its profit forecast because Apple is going to stop paying royalties
- Weakness in Intel's most vital post-PC business gave Wall Street a nasty surprise
Lastly, here's what it's like to attend the TED talks, where attendees pay $10,000 to learn the next big ideas.